Auckland Masters ‘World Series’

KYLE ANDERSON claimed his first televised PDC title as he secured a deciding leg win in the final of the 2017 Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB and Burger King, with victory over fellow Australian Corey Cadby in the final.

Wednesday 09 Aug 2017

Article by &dash; PDPA

KYLE ANDERSON claimed his first televised PDC title as he secured a deciding leg win in the final of the 2017 Auckland Darts Masters,presented by TAB and Burger King,with victory over fellow Australian Corey Cadby in the final.

World number 29 Kyle Anderson, who had picked up his first PDC title at Players Championship 17 a week earlier was victorious as the third staging of the Auckland Darts Masters came to a close.

The final began with Cadby, who had earlier defeated Phil Taylor, in fine form. The 2016 World Youth Champion, raced in to 4-1 lead courtesy of three maximums in the open two legs and four out of five successful attempts at doubles.

A major turning point of the match came in the seventh leg where with Cadby sat on 40, having already missed a dart at tops, Anderson took out 160 to break the Cadby throw. Anderson then went on to move in to the lead for the first time in the match in the ninth leg, taking out 66 on tops.

Cadby regained the break in the next leg, as Anderson decided to go for the bull needing 121, with his opponent not on a finish, leaving 25. ‘The Original’ then missed two darts to hold throw before Cadby broke back.

The pair then exchanged holds until the 15th leg where Anderson hit back-to-back 180’s to move ahead once again. More misses were to follow for Anderson as three chances were blown to move clear, with Cadby taking out 47 to draw level again.

Cadby was next to feel the pressure, with the score at 9-8 in his favour, the 22-year-old squandered five opportunities to extend his lead to two and was eventually punished by Anderson. Two holds of throw followed to take the match in to a decider, where Cadby had the advantage of throwing first.

A crucial maximum in the final leg gave Anderson the initiative and he eventually sealed the title, taking out 68 on double four.

“I’m so pleased to win this, I’ve always known I’ve had the ability and I’m starting to show everyone now.

The 160 in the seventh leg was the crucial moment, it made me believe I could win it after Corey had started so well.” Said Anderson.

“My scoring has been good and I’m hitting my doubles now, so let’s hope I can carry that on when we head to Melbourne and Perth.” Added the eventual winner.

Cadby also spoke after the final and believes there is more to come from him.

“Confidence is the key and I believe in myself, I always want win but I’m really pleased for Kyle. “It’s Aussie, Aussie, Aussie all the way and I can’t wait to go home.” Said Cadby.

Earlier in the night Anderson had put James Wade to the sword with an impressive 11-4 victory. The Australian punished ‘The Machine’ for missing four attempts at double in the opening five legs to take a commanding 4-1 lead in to the first break.

Anderson’s hot streak continued after the break as he won the next five legs, including a 164 finish to move within two legs of the final. Wade then managed to produce a minor comeback of his own, breaking the Anderson throw, taking out 118 on tops before holding throw to close the gap to six.

Anderson’s fourth 180 of the encounter helped him to hold throw in the 13th leg of the match, before sealing his place in a first World Series of Darts final by pinning tops for an 11-4 win. Cadby sealed his place in the final with a magnificent 11-8 victory over Phil Taylor.

‘The Power’, celebrating his 57th birthday started slowly, with the Australian racing in to a 3-0 lead. A quieter period of the match followed with the pair trading holds in front of a packed Trusts Arena crowd.

It wasn’t until the tenth leg of the match that Taylor managed to level the score, taking out 116 on double 18. The intensity levels were then upped as the crowd began to get more involved but it didn’t seem to affect the players as Cadby and Taylor hit 11 maximums between them.

The drama continued right until the end, with the score at 10-7in the Australian’s favour, Cadby then missed two match-darts, seemingly handing the initiative back to Taylor, as he closed the gap to two.

The final leg of the match was also packed with action, with Taylor missing a dart for a 114 checkout before Cadby took out 103 on double 18 to book a spot in the decider. The fifth event of the 2017 World Series of Darts takes place in Australia as the first staging of the Melbourne Darts Masters takes place between August 18-20 at the Hisense Arena.